Friday, December 3, 2010

Splice Me Up, Before You Go Go

I've mentioned my love of BioShock once or twice on this blog before. Here is the trailer, if you don't know what I'm talking about.

One of my favourite parts of the game is the Splicers; citizens of Rapture (a dilapidated 1940s underwater city) who have abused gene altering substances to the point of physical mutation and mental instability. Splicers are always ranting and singing to themselves.

And sometimes they just whistle.

There are a bunch of action figures out for BioShock and BioShock 2. I decided I should get the latest. Specifically, the Lady Smith Splicer. For research purposes, you understand... *ahem* I was curious to see how her figure would look in the flesh, so to speak, considering her outrageous persona and physique in the game. She's not your typical bodacious female figure.

The Lady Smith is one of the most snobbish enemies, as she was originally an upper-crust lady of leisure:

"Once she was the talk of the town – a high-profile socialite whose wit was her weapon among Rapture’s elite. As the city fell from grace, so did she – becoming addicted to ADAM, splicing herself stronger and faster to feel safe in the streets. She resents having to eat refuse and scrabble for ADAM, but ultimately, she’s a survivor. As a "Leadhead", she pelts her enemies with bursts of tommy-gun fire between vicious verbal barbs."

Cute shoe. She has also grown a tail from one leg, while the other foot has come to resemble more of a hoof/claw.

It seems to me there is something quite poignant about the idea a woman would mutate her body so dramatically: "splicing herself stronger and faster to feel safe in the streets." Women today are surgically altering their bodies for beautification purposes. But would they do it for physical power? What kind of environment would justify such an act? And at what cost?

(BioShock engages with plastic surgery also, through the character of Dr Steinman and his "Aesthetic Ideals" clinic. You can check out his bit of the game here- warning, major spoilers.)

As one reviewer put it: "NECA's Ladysmith Splicer is a hideous monster of a woman. She's painful to look at, and unsettling to consider. But that is as it should be: that's how she looks in the game, as well. "

If I still had my childhood barbies, they would definitely be clutching their pink purses tighter tonight.